Type-writing machine.



PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908.

- J. C. MOLAUGHLIN.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908.

J. 0. MGLAUGHLIN.

TYPE WRITING MA CHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1907.-

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

No. 890,370. I PATENTED JUNE '9, 1908.

J. G. McLAUGHLIN.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

w/vwssaes I 4 I v f N IKE/V701? v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

JOHN o, McLAUGHLIN, or JERSEY cITYQNEW JERSEY, I'AS'SIGNOR T UNDERWOOD TYPE-.

WRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TYPE-WRITING. MACHINE No. sea-eve.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June '9, 190a.

. Application mearbmuy 2 ,1907." Serial No. 359,451.

To all v'whmniit may concern.

1 new and useful Improvements in Type-Writmg Machines, of which the following 'is a specification.

to the usual rear paper shelf at the introductory side of the platen, there is provided a ,board of extensive area extending upwardly and rearwardly from the front side of the platen u on which to rest or support sheets, especial y when the latter are introduced downwardly -.at the front'side of the. platen, and pass rearwardly around the same.

In the well known Underwood front strike writing machine, the usualinclined paper shelf in rear of the platen is curved forwardly to deflect the paper around the under side of the platen to the front thereof, andpaperfeeding rolls press upwardly against the platen, openings being formed in the cprved portion of-said paper shelf to accommodate the rolls.

According to the present invention,.I so arrange the said deflector and platen relati ve to each other as to cause thefront edge or portion of saiddeflector or urved plate to bear against the platen or lie close thereto,

so as to give proper support to the sheet of paper near the line of Writing, and otherwise properly control the sheet; and at the same time said front portion is made movable awayfromthe platenat the will of the oper-.-

ator, so that a clear channel is left between the same and the platen for the introduction of sheets downwardly and backwardly at the front of the platen; the deflector and paper. shelf for this purpose being mounted in the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, upon the platen frame by means of hinges directly in.rear of the platen, and preferablyat the "lower portion of the main paper shelf or near the point where the paper shelf merges into. the deflector plate which curves forwardly around the platen. Said I swinging curved deflector plate is connected; to thekey which in theUnderwood machine releases saidppressure roll s, so that when the rolls are released the curved deflector is swung downwardly away from the platen; or in other words by a single movement of said key all of the paper guiding and pressure devices are dropped fromthe platen, so

that it'is rendered very convenient to..'introduce sheets downwardly at the front of the This invention relates to the devices in a. type-writingmachine which feed, guide, con= trol or support the 'sheets of'paper, and pare 'ticularly to machines in which, in addition platen and since the release key in said machine is usually detained mechanically in roll-releasing position, it will be seen that the-said deflector islikewise maintained by the key away from the platen, thus leaving both hands of the operator free to manipulate the sheets.

In the style of Underwood machines above referred to, it is customary to provide upon the machine a frame and sea eor pair of scales, which lie against the front side of the latch, but do not-travel therewith in letter ceding direction; said-scales usually in the form of plates sloping upwardly and forwardly from the front side of the platen and constituting directrices to facilitate introducing sheets downwardly into the machine.

According to the present invention, the release key' acts through the curved paperguiding late heretofore referred to, to swing said sca e or scales forwardly away from the platen, to make a substantial opening to receive the sheets. When the key is restored* to normal position, the pressure rolls and deflector plate ,or a ron and the said platen scales are returne to their normal positions and control the sheets that have been introduced. V

Another feature of the invention provides for convenientlytipping a sheet-supporting board backwardly behlnd the. rear paper shelf and outof the way to leave the platen uncovered, so that the operator may conveniently get at the rear of the platen for manipulatin the sheets rovision being made for latching the s eet-supporting board inits normal position.

In the specific variety of-machine above referred to, it has been the practice to pro- *vide a series ofrolls to run upon the front of the platen just below the bottom edge of the sheet-supporting board. It is desirable to have these rolls press. quite hard against the paper, and they have been mounted upon rackets carried by a rod in front ofthe platen and adjustable along the rod. 7 Said rod has strength correspondingly diminished. Usu-" q ally, however, four roll-carrying brackets being shown b tion, and by fu l struction of the front ing one of the d, and it is found akness and lack of rigidity of the latterfth'e rolls-carried upon the middle portion thereof, do not ress with sufficient or uniform force against t ieplaten,

are mounted upon that owing to the" and each of the rolls carried by the rod arebound to press unevenly upon the platen. One

featureof the present invention aims to overcome these objections by mounting on the brackets so that the rolls yieldingly u 1 shall bear accurately the ends of each ro and with uniform pressure alike upon the laten. Provision .18 also made for regulat-' ing .at will the pressure of each roll, so that all be brought to bear with the laten.

advantages will of the rolls may proper pressure upon the Other improvements an be hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a pers ectiveviewpf the platen and platen frame 0 an -Underwood front strike writing machine with the resent improvements applied thereto; the s eet-supporting board dotted lines-1n normal posilines as thrown back togive access'to the rear side of the platen. Fig. 2 "is a sectional elevation taken transversely of the platen. and showing the details of conpressure roll supports. Fig. 2 is a ing spring-p ate. Fig. 3 is anend view ,of the platen frame and platen,

mal positions. illustrating parts seen in Fig. 3, said parts being in normal positions. Fig. .4 "1.lll1S trates a friction-washer or loop bearing against a standard, to afford op osition to the turning ofthe sheet-board. Fig. .5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the key depressed 'to release the paper rolls and swing thedefiector or under curved late away from the platen. Fi 6 is an end elevation of the platen and related arts showsupports for the ront sheetsup orting board and oneof'the indicating sea es. Fig. 7 is a plan of the platen frame inverted. Fig' 8 is a plan of the yielding roll-carrying part of the adjustable front ro of t e laten),

hin e around .25 may erspective view of a roII-carry-J showing the rear paper shelf and the pressure rolls in nor Fig. 4 1s a sectional view against the front side of a revoluble platen 2 mounted by means of an axle 3 in the ends 4 of the platen frame, said ends rigidly connected at their rear portions by a bar and. at their front ends by a rod 6.

Front and rear rolls 7, 8, are mounted upon axles 9, 10, suitablyjournaled, to run upon the under side of the platen. Springs 1 1, 12, acting throu h arms 13, 14, press said rolls against the aten. The rolls are released by means of a ey 15 connected by a link 16, to a crank 17 upon a rock shaft .18, which shaft has cut-away or cam devices 19 to engage arms 20, 21, mounted on a rod 18 above the rock-shaft, said arms 20, 21 being formed integral with'the arms 13, 14, respectively, but-at right angles thereto, so that when the shaft 18 is rocked, the arms 20,21 are cammed away from .one another and the arms 13, 14 are forced downwardly from the platen, carrying downwardly and releasing the pressure of the shafts 9, 1'0 .androlls 7, 8 upon the platen. The shaft 18 makes a quarter turn at the depression of said key 15, thereby causing the arms 20, 21 to rest upon the cylindrical or uncut portion of said rock shaft 18, whereby the arms are held mechanically in roll-releasing position. Said rollreleasing mechanism is in common use on the Underwood machine. The paper shelf 22 in this instance, is pivoted or ingedat 23 by means of a pair of. ears 24 to the opposite sides of the aten frame 4.- The paper shelf extends upwardly and rearwardly from said hin e (which is located at the'lo'werrear side 25 to orm a deflector extending from said the under side of the platen an up infront thereof, andis provided with apertures 26 to receive the rolls 7, 8. Normally the front portion ofthe curved plate lie close toorin contact with the platen as at Figs. 3 and 4, but by the depress sion oflthe release key 15 said curved plate 25 is swung away from the platen by means of a pin 27 fixed upon the rock shaft 18, and engaging a finger 28 formed upon an arm 29 extending downwardly from the under side of-the. late25. Normallythe rolls 7 and 8 and de ector 25 cooperate to guide and feed the sheets around the platen line by line, but

when said key 15 is depressed, the plate 25 and ro1ls.7 and 8 are thrown away from the laten to provide an unobstructed channel or'the insertion of paper either downwardly at the front side of the platen, or forwardly from the rear of the platen,=as may be deand also curves forwardly at sired. The rolls 7, 8, may drop to or below Y the top surface of the deflector when the parts are moved away from the platen; and in some cases may be omitted, thereby avoiding the necessity of forming apertures 26 in the plate. When the key 15 is restored to .nor-

mal position, the pin 27 engages an opposite finger 30 on said arm 29 to restore the plate 7 25 to normal position. Two arms29 and two projections 27 may be provided,-and-said projections may be formed upon collars 31 secured by screws 32 upon the rock shaft 18, said screws admitting the adjustment of the axles around the shaft 18 suflicient to pro duce a slight normal pressure of the forward said springs being overcome by the depres- "sion of the key 15.

, the platen.

Pivoted at 33 upon the framework 34 of the machine and extending up in front of the platen is a pair of plates 35-having at their upper edges flanges 36 inclined forwardly and upwardly to serve as directrices for introducing sheets, and (usually marked with graduations to form platen scales. These plates are pressedabackwarcllyv bya spring or springs 37, and lie normally close to The plates 35 are formed with angular ribbed portions 38 engageable direct- 1y by the front edge portion "of the deflector 25, solthatwhen the latter is swung-down, the plates 35 are pushed forwardly thereby,

to the position seen at Figs. .5 and 6, thereby.

making an opening between thescales and the "platen to receive the sheets tobe introduced' downwardly around the platen. When the key '15 is released, the spring or springs 37' throws the scale plate or plates 35 against the platen again.

A board 39 of great area extends u wardly and rearwardly from the front top si e of the platen to supportthe sheets while being introduced downwardly in-front of'the platen,

and also while feeding line by line upwardly. Said board is hinged by ears 4'0 and'pintles 41 upon a pair of standards 42 erected one upon each end of the platen frame'4. The hinge is so place'd that the upper; part of the board overbalances the lower part-inits forward position, (see dotted lines, Fi ,1) and said board ma swing downward behind the aper she -22, as seen at ig. l" in full inesi-Latches 43 ivoted at. 44 upon the platen frame and rawn u by s'pr1ngs-45, catch over'the loweredge 0 the board 39 to retain the same in normal position, one latch being provided at each end of the platen frame. .Each latch is extended to form a iinger-piece'wr key 46, by the depression of which the latches 43' are caused to 'drop and. release the board, the overbalanced upper portion of which immediately drops while;

rake its; dejscent, anditmay beskewedas-atej Fig. 9150 thntit isf'operative atthe-last'part of the movement of the board to abnormal position' to slowdown the fall and reduce the 'shock of the board 39 when it strikes the paper shelf 22.

Uponthe front. side of'the platen just below the sheet-supporting board 39 are rolls 48 which may be adjusted along the platen, being slidably mounted upon the rod 6, in a manner which will now be described, and a description of one roll with its appurtenances will suffice for all., A bracket comprising a pair of ears 49 and-.a connectingbar 50 is mounted upon the rod 6, said ears being perforated to fit upon the latter. Fixed to the bracket by screws 51 isa finger-piece 52', the latter being bent up at one end to form an ear 53'throu hwhich said screws pass. By means of said 'nger-piece', the. bracket may. be slid .along the rod 6 or turned forwardly fi'om the vplaten to release the rolls. Each bracket- 1 as a bow-spring 54-which presses a cylindri-- cal pin 55 into a shallow groove 56 extending along the rear side of the bar 6; Thepin 55 acts as a key and 'holdsthe roll 48 yieldingly' againstthe platen, but it may be forced outof the groove by a forward pull on the finger piece 52 so as to leave a space'in front of the platen for'the downward introduction of the sheets, as atFig. 6.

turned upon a thin plate 59, the latter at its forward end being bent up to form a flange 60, which is confined between thefiange 53 and the bar 50 that is secured by the screws 51. This plate 59-is thin, and yielding and is formed of springy metal. Its general form resembles the letter T, the broad parts 59 bearing theears 58, and the stem part 59 being so narrow and thin as to be capable of' twisting to accommodate the position of-the. platen, or to compensate for any discrepancy 1n the shapes or structures of the various parts so that the ends of the roll 48 shall rest andrun with the same uniform pressure upon the platen 2-.

The roll 48 is mounted upon an axle 57 carriedin a pair of cars 58' 9 For the purpose of adjustment, a screw 61,

*caused to bear with any desired degree of pressure upon the platen, the screw. 61 being held bya am-nut 62;- The invention is not-limited to the details shown and described, and the disclosure here' made is to be regarded merely as illustrative and not restrictive of my invention; and obviously'portions of the improvements may be used without others. v

Having :thns -des eribed my invention, I

claim: V

1. -In a typeWriting-machine and-in combination, a revolubleplaten, a .pivot'allymounted sheet-supporting board extending upwardly' and rearwardly frpm the upper wardly from the to front side of said platen, and a latch to hold said board in normal position said board be-, ing over-balanced at its top so as to automatically swing to an. inclined position in rear of said laten when released, from the control of said latch.

2. In a typewriting machine rovided with a revoluble platen, the combination of a sheet-supporting board extending upwardly and rearwardly from the upper front side of its top and bottom edges upon said.stand ards, means being provided to cause automatic movement of the top edge of the board downwardly and back of said papershelf and of the bottom edge of the board upwardly togive access to the rear side of the platen, and

a latch to prevent the sheet-supporting board from making such movement.

4. In a typewriting machine provided with a revoluble platen and a paper shelf in rear thereof, the combination wlth a sheet supporting board extending upwardly and rear of the platen, of supports whereon said oard is hinged between its top and'bottom edges, so that the part above the hinge overbalances the part below the hinge, and so that the upper art ofthe board may swing downward y. ehind the paper shelf while the lower part of the board swings upwardly to give accessto tlie rear of 'theplaten, and a latch to restrain the s'wi-ng-.

ing of the' board.

. 5. In a typewritlng machine provided with a revoluble platenand a paper shelf in rear thereof, .the combination with a sheet-supporting board extending upwardly and rearwardly from the top of the platen, of sup- "ports whereon said board is' hinged between its top and bottom edges, so that the part above the hinge overbalances the part below the hinge,-to cause the upperflpart of the board to swing downwardly behind the paper shelf and the lower part of the board to swing upwardly to give access to the rear of the platen, means frictionally opposing the swinging movement of said. board,: and a latch to restrain the boardfrom making such movement.

a revoluble platen, a platen frame, and'a pa per shelf in rear of the platen, the combination with a sheet-supporting board extendingthe width ofsaid arm, and

pwardly'and rearwardly from the top of the aten'and movable backwardly over the, top of the platen to give access to the rear side of the platen, means detaining said board in normal position, and keys upon the platen frame for-releasing said board,'.the latter acting to 'movefrom over the platen, when released.

7. In a typewriting machine provided with a revoluble platen, the combination with a sheet-supporting board extending forwardly and rearwardly from the top of the platen and movable backwardly over the top of the platen to'give, access to the rear side of the platen, means detaining said board in nonmal position, and keys uponthe platen frame for releasing said board, the latter acting .to

-m ove from over the platen, when released;

said detaining means being in the .form of latches movable by the board, to ermit the freereturn of the latter to norma position. and having springs to cause them to atch the board in normal position.-

- 8. Ina typewriting machine, the combination with a laten, of a pressure roll to run thereon, an a flexible resilient arm supported at one end andcarrying said roll at the other end and constructed to equalize the pressure on the ends of the roll, the length of said roll being greatly in excess of the width of said arm, and the" roll extending crosswise of the arm, and the arm constructed to permit either end of the roll to be raised from the platen while the other end remains pressed against the platen by said arm.

9. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a revoluble platen, of a pressure nation with a platen, ofa pressure roll. to run thereon, and an arm supported .at one end and carrfying said roll atthe other end, the

length 0 said roll being reatly in excess of the roll extending crosswise of the arm, and the arm being constructed to permit either end of the roll to move towar s or fromthe platen axis inde I roll to run thereon, and a support for said roll pendently of the other end, and means to ad- I just the pressure of the'roll against the platen. .11. In a typewriting machine, the combi- V nation with a platen, of a pressure roll to run 6. 'In a typewriting machine provided with thereon, and an arm supported at one end the width of said arm, and the roll extending crosswise of the arm, and the arm being constructed to permit either end of'the roll to ble to permit one end of /the roll to move towards or from the platen axis independently of the other, and means to adjust the pres sure of the 'roll against the platen.

12. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of a pressure roll to runthereon, and an arm supported at one end and carrying said roll at the other end, the

length of said roll being greatly in excess of the width of said arm, and the roll extending crosswise ofthe arm, and-the arm being constructed to permit either end of the roll to move towards or from the platen axis indeendently of the other end; said arm being ble to permit one end of the .roll to move towards or from the platen axis independently of the other, means to adjust the pressure of the roll against the platen, a bracket whereon the end of said arm. is fixed, and adjustable means upon saidbracket to bear upon said arm to regulate thepressure of; the roll upon the platen.

13. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a revoluble laten,'o f a rod extending along the platen, rackets adjustable along said rod, a pressure-equalizing arm adjustable along the platen, and a long roll mounted u on the end of said arm to bear upon the p aten, said arm having a yielding construction to permit either end ofthe rol to be raised away from the platen while the other'end remains pressed against the platen by said arm.

14. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a revoluble platen, of a rod extending along the platen, brackets adj ustable along said rod, an arm mounted along the platen, a long roll mounted upon the end of said arm to bear upon the platen, said arm having a yielding construction'to permit either end of the roll to move towards or away from the platen axis independently of the other end, and adjustable means carried by said bracket to regulate the pressure of said roll upon the platen.

15. In a typewriting machine, the combination with-a revoluble pla'tenand a rod extending therealong, of a series of brackets adjustable along said rod, a thin sheet metal arm extending from each ot said brackets andhaying a long crosshead or bar, a roll mountedin the ends of said cross bar or head,

to bear upon the platen, and said arm being constructed to yield axially to permit either endof the roll to move towards or from the platen axis independently of the other end, and adjustable means upon said bracket to bear upon said arm to regulate the pressure of the roll upon the platen.

16. In a typewriting machine, the combination-with a-revoluble platen and a rod extending along the platen, of a series of brackets mounted upon said rod and adjustable therealong independently of each other, finger-pieces secured upon said'brackets, thin sheet metal spring arms also secured upon said brackets, said arms extending toward the platen and formed with cross bars at their rear ends, pressure rolls mounted in said cross bars and held by said arms against theplaten, and releasable means between said brackets and said rod for yieldingly pressing the brackets in a direction to cause the rolls to bear against the platen; each of said spring arms ,being suihciently yielding to permit one end of its roll to be raised from the platen while the other end remains pressed bysaid arm against the platen. formed of thin sheet metal sufiiciently flexi- 1 7. In a typewriting machine, the combination with-a revoluble platen and a rod extending along the platen, of a series of brack-' -e ts mounted upon said rod and 'aidjustable therealong independently of each other, fin ger-pieces secured upon said brackets, .thin sheet metal arms also secured upon said brackets, said arms extending toward the platen and formed with cross bars at their rear ends, pressure rolls mounted in said cross bars and held by said arms againstthe platen, releasable means between said brackets and said rod for yieldingly pressing the brackets in a direction. to cause the rolls to bear against the platen, and screws threaded through said finger-piece to bear upon said arms to regulate the pressure rolls upon the platen, the arms and cross bars being sufficiently flexible to cause the ends of each roll to bear upon the platen.

' 18. In a typewriting machine,-the combination with a revolubleplaten, of a bracket,

a thin sheet metal spring arm secured upon said bracket, said arm, extending toward the platen and formed with a cross bar, a pres-' sure roll mounted in said cross bar and held by said arm against the platen, and adjustable meansto bear upon said arm to regulate the pressure of the rolls'upon the platen, the arm and 'cross bars being sufficiently flexible to cause the ends of the roll to bear alike upon the platen.

19. In a typewriting machine'the combination with a revoluble platen and a rod extending along the front of the platen, of a series of brackets mounted upon said rod and metal spring arms having ears whereby they I are secured upon said brackets, said arms extending toward the platen and formed with cross bars at their. rear ends, and pressure rolls mountedin said cross bars and .held by said arms against the platen, means hetween said brackets and said rodfor yield- Y ingly pressing the bracketsin a directien to me ends of each roll to bear alike upon the cause the rolls to bear against the platen, and platen.

screw threaded through said finger-pieces to Y bear upon said arms to regulate the, pressure JOHN MLAUGHLIN of the rolls upon the platen, and nuts to hold Witnesses:

said screws Where adjusted; the arm and B. C. STICKNEY,

cross bars being'sufliciently flexible to cause K. FRANKFORT. 

